One wonders are these laws they bring out are for bangkok only, as out here in the sticks there are herds of people traveling in the back of pickups, going and coming from work. guys sitting on the tops of large vehicles how they going to belt up

All car passengers now required to buckle up

All passengers in a car are now required to fasten their seat belts under amendments to some sections of the Land Traffic Act made by an order of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) chairman Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.

The NCPO's Order 14/2560, issued under Section 44 of the interim charter, was published in the Royal Gazette on March 21. It imposes additional legal measures for the people's safety.

The amendments were made to Sections 55, 123 and 141 of the Land Traffic Act.

According to the announcement:

Section 55 was amended to empower traffic police officers or persons authorised by them to remove a vehicle which has been parked in violation of the Land Traffic Act or use some devices to lock it up to prevent it from being removed.

The driver or owner of the vehicle is required to pay the removal or lock up cost, and for the upkeeping of it while in the care of the traffic police.

Section 123 was amended to require the drivers of vehicles to fasten their seat belts and make sure all passengers buckle up as well.

The amendment to Section 141 empowers traffic law enforcement officials to notify the driver or owner of a vehicle who has been issued a ticket for violating the law to pay the fine within 15 days.

If the driver or owner of the vehicle does not pay the fine in time, the traffic police must send a letter advising the vehicle registrar to order the violator to pay the fine within 30 days.

If the driver or owner of the vehicle still does not pay the fine, a case will be filed with a court and the vehicle registrar will not extend the vehicle's annual registration until the payment is made.

They certainly did not think this one through.It does not go far enough, what is to stop somchai from getting a ticket, continue on with all 15 passengers in his pickup, only to be stopped again at the next police check and get fined again, certainly easier to pay the fine.I would have thought that a fine is good, but go further and only allow the car to carry as many passengers as there are seat belts, as attached by the origional manufacturer, as some inventive person might add additional seat belts that have not been properly tested.

I had a Mitsi Pajero Sport, only had 7 seats with seat belts. I made sure that there were only 7 including me and all were belted up properly before the car even moved.

Is Prayut kidding? Just until AFTER Song Kran? No one should be riding in the back of a pick-up truck, period. This is going to be fun watching them trying to enforce this during the famous three days of throwing water. Come to think about it, the police could make a fortune stopping and fining drivers with occupants in the back of a pick-up truck. I'd set up shop on all roads leading North, starting with the By-pass road in Korat. Make this dream a permanent law and the police could rake in the baht on a daily basis. Let's face it, in Thailand you pay a "user fee," to break the law. Fine by me and it's obviously fine with the authorities.

Well it was a bit sudden and being right on top of songkran, anyone here wanna tell the people in the pic below their braking the law

pic@ thairath.co

A pickup can carry no more than six passengers on its back: Government spokesman

Passengers can sit in the cab of a pickup truck and no more than six passengers can ride on the back of the same vehicle as the government has agreed to ease the seat belt regulation during the Songkran festival in order not to cause too much trouble to the public who are not ready to adjust to the new measure.

Government spokesman Lt-Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd, however, said that the reprieve would be temporary in order to give more time for public to make adjustments. He insisted that the regulation would be strictly enforced for public safety.

As for private cars, the spokesman said police would strictly enforce the seat belt regulation requiring the driver and all passengers to fasten seat belts. However, during the initial stage, he said police might give a warning if any of the passengers were found to not fasten a seat belt.

The regulation will be strictly applied to taxis, passenger vans and inter-provincial buses.

Also during the Spongkran festival, police will get tough with drunk driving, speeding and reckless driving in an attempt to reduce road accidents during the festive period.

"the government has agreed to ease the seat belt regulation during the Songkran festival in order not to cause too much trouble to the public who are not ready to adjust to the new measure."

Adjust to the new measure? LOL. Are they serious? Not too cause too much trouble. Jesus. How are people "not ready" to adjust? Could it be just plain laziness and the Mak Ngai (easy way) factor kicking in as usual? When will they adjust, when Thailand moves up to the number one most dangerous place to drive in the world? Nah. I'll bet many of these government officials have families, friends, and relatives that ride in the back of pick-up trucks. Even the America, it's still legal in twenty states.

Not ready to adjust yet 38 yrs. - 6 in a bed it is, The people have spoken, not caring about the hundreds of deaths

The prohibition on truck-bed riding has been enshrined in law since 1979, only now the authorities are choosing to enforce it, according to the director of the Land Transport Department. khaosodenglish.com

Not ready to adjust yet 38 yrs. - 6 in a bed it is, The people have spoken, not caring about the hundreds of deaths

The prohibition on truck-bed riding has been enshrined in law since 1979, only now the authorities are choosing to enforce it, according to the director of the Land Transport Department. khaosodenglish.com

Thai Rath commented strongly on the story on everyone’s lips this week: the government’s ban on travelling in the back of pick-ups.

Though PM Prayut has said that the implementation of the ban will be delayed until after the Songkran holidays Thai Rath said that the ban was effectively a slap in the face for the nation’s poor who are obliged through one reason or another to travel in this way.

In reality the law banning travelling in the cargo bay of pick-up has existed for a long time and is known to the people, they said.

But everyone has accepted that it is not enforced. To suddenly announce that it would be enforced is unfair, especially to the poor.

The influential Thai media group said that 35 million people are expected to be on the move next week in buses, planes, trains, minivans and cars. There are thought to be more than 7,000 bus and van trips per day alone with upwards of 180,000 passengers per day using that mode of transport.

But they said that many poor people cannot afford to go in buses and vans.

They choose to club together with friends and travel in the back of pick-ups by splitting money for gas and thus saving cash on expensive bus travel.

While accepting that this has its own dangers there are also dangers travelling in vans and buses. They said that poor driving of overtired and badly trained bus and van drivers was also very risky.

This was known to all Thais as was the habit of fleecing the public for transport costs during times like Songkran.

So this is why the poor are prepared to suffer the blazing sun, the wind and the rain by sitting in the back of a pick-up. Everyone always knew it was illegal but now it is to be enforced they demanded of the government:

“What are the poor to do now?”

“Poor families whose only asset is their pick-up used to transport goods and people – vehicles bought in good faith – what are they going to do now?”

People have got used to using pick-ups as multi-utility vehicles and to expect them to suddenly change was unfair and a slap in the face from the authorities to the poor.

Thai Rath looked at accident statistics and quoted experts who identified areas where compromises to the enforcement of the law could be made.

One of the main problems, they said, was that people in the back of a pick-up changed the stability characteristics especially if there were more than seven.

In this case there was two times more likelihood of an accident.

If people were standing in the back of a pick-up this further increased to four times more likely that an accident would happen.

The more people that were carried the more chance of an accident.

Thai Rath proposed that several measures could be made in the short term to “meet the law half way”.

These included making it law to put a roof on the back of pick-ups, limiting the number of occupants in the back to just seven and focusing on being strict in enforcing the law on fast roads such as highways, motorways and toll ways.

the no sitting in the back law was sure to save lives as especially at Songkran. but the public cried foul so the authorities backed down,was the people effectively demanding the right for them to continue killing themselves. shame innocent people will die with them. the bright side, you might be able to buy a pick-up at a reasonably good price if there no longer allowed as people carriers after songkran,unless they back down again.

I just knew they would bottle it - Pickups allowed to carry passengers until new rules done, wonder how many will lose their life till then - power to the people - well it sounds like there going for seat belts to be fitted in the back off pickups - at least that's something.

Pickups allowed to carry passengers until new rules done: police

SENIOR police are pressing the Land Transport Department (LTD) for new regulations that would allow pickups to carry passengers, not just cargo, in cabs or beds – as long as they have safety belts installed.

Until the new regulations are issued, police have no plan to arrest or fine pickup drivers or owners who carry passengers.

“We won’t take legal action against people who use their pickups for carrying passengers until the New Year,” Assistant National Police Commissioner Pol Lt-General Wittaya Prayongpan said yesterday.

He said the National Police Office had written to the LTD to propose measures for new regulations and would raise the issue at a meeting again today.

Earlier, various authorities pledged to take action against pickup drivers carrying passengers because laws currently state that pickup beds could transport cargo only. As a result, few people were seen in the back of pickups during the recent Songkran holidays.

“We believe we can be lenient and also help ensure people’s safety,” Wittaya said.

Police have recommended installing safety belts in pickup cabs, and safety belts or railings in pickup beds. They also want pickups with passengers to drive at less than 80 kilometres an hour.

Songkran led to a media focus on road safety, given that millions of people travel to their home provinces or tourist destinations during the festival, which marks the traditional Thai New Year.

Officials said 3,388 road accidents occurred between last Tuesday and Sunday, April 11 to 16, claiming 335 lives and injuring 3,506 people.

Of these accidents, about 82 per cent were related to motorcycles and just over 8 per cent were related to pickups.

A total of 403 road accidents took place on Sunday, causing 44 deaths and injuring 427 people, according to the Road Safety Centre. Common causes were drunk driving and speeding.

Sunday was the sixth of the so-called “seven dangerous days” associated with the Songkran festival.

Of all provinces, Chiang Mai had the highest number of accidents – 153 – during the period. The northern province also had the highest number of injured victims at 160.

Nakhon Ratchasima had the highest road death toll at 17. Compared with the same period last year, the number of accidents during the first six of Songkran’s seven dangerous days was up by 284. The number of people injured increased by 235. But the number of deaths was down by 62.

Officials worked hard to promote road safety to prevent accidents, seizing 6,544 vehicles between Wednesday and Sunday after drivers were found to be drunk or had been drinking.

Yesterday was the last official holiday for Songkran, so many thousands of people headed back to Bangkok from the provinces.

Buses run by the Transport Co, a state enterprise, carried about 190,000 passengers in the morning.

Train stations also saw huge crowds of people boarding Bangkok-bound wagons. Many roads to the capital were also congested. The tailback on Paholyothin Road was so long officials had to allocate outbound lanes for inbound traffic.

"SENIOR police are pressing the Land Transport Department (LTD) for new regulations that would allow pickups to carry passengers, not just cargo, in cabs or beds – as long as they have safety belts installed."

Yeah right. I can just see it now....a bungee cord or small piece of old buffalo rope on nine make shift wooden benches, shared by xxx many people in the back of a pick-up truck. It's going to be a sight to see what the interpretation of, "seat belt," means for these folks.

Yeah right. I can just see it now....a bungee cord or small piece of old buffalo rope on nine make shift wooden benches, shared by xxx many people in the back of a pick-up truck. It's going to be a sight to see what the interpretation of, "seat belt," means for these folks.

Heh heh. Never thought of that Nan, but it makes sense. I know one foreigner here who got into a TukTuk and put a bungee cord on to secure himself and a crash helmet on. The TukTuk driver refused to take him anywhere after he saw that. lol.